The six-level system of conservation measures under the Drought Management Plan are based on dam levels, flows in streams and bore levels for all seven water supply schemes operated by Tamworth Regional Council.
The water rules system has been designed to clearly set out the triggers or prompts for certain water use levels and restrictions so that residents are more aware of what water rules come into force for certain local conditions. The same levels of restrictions are proposed to apply to all water supply areas but the trigger points for each level will vary depending on each supply.
Information on what each of the levels mean is provided below and we have included this Water Restrictions Guide to clearly lay out the things you can and cannot do on each level and in each category.
Permanent or Normal
Under the Permanent/Normal level, the onus for conservation is on householders and other water users.
Outside watering with sprinklers and fixed hoses is not allowed during the heat of the day. In other words, you can use sprinklers and fixed hoses after 4:00pm and before 9:00am during Eastern Standard Time (EST) and after 6:00pm and before 8:00am in Daylight Saving Time (DST). Hand held hoses with trigger nozzles and buckets or watering cans may used for watering of lawns, gardens and vehicle washing at any time while Permanent or Normal water rules are in place. Residents are reminded that trigger nozzles should be use on all hoses to help conserve supplies and avoid waste.
Level 1
Sprinklers, sprays and fixed hoses allowed only for two hours a day, 5:00pm to 7:00pm EST or 6:00pm to 8:00pm DST. Hand held hoses can still be used but not during the heat of the day – in other words not between 9:00am and 4pm EST or 8:00am and 6:00pm DST.
Level 2
Sprinklers are banned, and hand held hoses can only be used for two hours a day, 5:00pm to 7:00pm EST or 6:00pm to 8:00pm in DST. You can only wash a vehicle with a hand hose and trigger nozzle between 5:00pm to 7:00pm EST or 6:00pm to 8:00pm DST but you can use a bucket anytime. You cannot wash down hard surfaces unless it’s with a high pressure cleaner, and you can top up your pool but you need council permission to fill it.
Level 3
All outdoor hoses and sprinklers banned, buckets only to water gardens or wash vehicles, and not during the heat of the day. You should disconnect hoses from taps and store them away. You are not permitted to wash down hard surfaces or fill pools. You can only top up pools with a bucket or cans and not during the heat of the day. The elderly or infirm who have difficulty in using buckets can apply for a special exemption for limited use of a hand held hose for 15 minutes on Wednesdays and Sundays. There is no watering of commercial or other sporting facilities like golf courses, football fields, hockey fields, bowling greens, croquet lawns or tennis courts with town water.
Level 4
All outdoor use of town water banned. You can use recycled or grey water or groundwater and rainwater tank water outside. Rainwater tanks that have been topped up with town water cannot be used for outdoor watering. There is no watering of commercial or other sporting facilities like golf courses, football fields, hockey fields, bowling greens, croquet lawns or tennis courts with town water. All outdoor industrial and commercial watering of green areas is banned. There is no watering of public parks, gardens, roundabouts or council-owned sporting facilities with town water although tankered bore water may be used to maintain some prominent areas. You are only allowed to clean the windows or windscreen of vehicles with a bucket of town water. All filling or topping up of pools using town supplies is banned. All previous Water Management Plans are now revoked. The special exemptions allowed in Level 3 for the elderly or infirm to water using a hose for 15 minutes on Wednesdays and Sundays are suspended under Level 4.
Level 5
Emergency provisions; includes all bans from Level 4 but evaporative coolers are also banned.
Water Management Plans
In some cases it may be possible to apply to Council for a Water Management Plan which, if approved, allows the use of water outside the designated hours under Permanent, Level 1, 2 and 3 restrictions. An application fee applies for Water Management Plans and if approved they are only valid for 12 months.
For full details of what can and cannot be done under various levels of water restrictions please see the Water Restrictions Guide.
The above advice on water restrictions applies to the reticulated town water supplies operated by Tamworth Regional Council, at Tamworth, Kootingal, Moonbi, Nundle, Attunga, Bendemeer, Manilla and Barraba. If you have a private or community operated water supply servicing your property within any of these areas you will need to check the NSW Department of Water and Energy website about the restrictions and conditions that apply to groundwater usage.
Why water restrictions are needed
In 2007 Council took a strategic approach to securing its water supplies by developing and implementing its Demand Management Plan and Drought Management Plan. As a key part of this, a system of water restrictions was developed for the community to conserve the region’s treated water supplies if and when their levels drop.
Council is also urging that everybody in the region be smart with the water they use and optimise its use wherever possible - even when supply levels are high. As such, water restrictions are never actually lifted - there is just a change in level depending on how much water we have.
Even when supply levels are at their highest, we are still on Permanent restrictions, which means things like using a sprinkler in the heat of the day or hosing paths and driveways are things of the past.
When and why restrictions change
If and when our water supplies become gradually lower, Council implements a series of water restrictions aimed at conserving our supplies until we receive rainfall in the various catchments, or to top up ground water supplies
A series of ‘trigger levels’ has been designed so that if and when a water supply falls to a certain percentage of its capacity, the residents who rely on that water supply are placed on a corresponding level of water restrictions. This gives the region a consistent and systematic approach to conserving its water supplies if and when it becomes necessary.
For example for residents who rely on the main Chaffey supply, water restrictions are implemented when the dam rises or falls to the following levels:
| Level of Restrictions |
Trigger Point for tightening restrictions – as Chaffey Dam falls |
Trigger Point for easing restrictions – as Chaffey Dam rises |
| Permanent |
|
60% |
| Level 1 |
50% |
45% |
| Level 2 |
40% |
37.5% |
| Level 3 |
35% |
32.5% |
| Level 4 |
30% |
32.5% |
| Level 5 |
25% |
32.5% |